A Petaluma man, identified as 42-year-old Jose Garcia Cortes, died early Saturday morning in a horrific solo-vehicle crash on Highway 116, just south of Sonoma.
The Press Democrat reports according to CHP, Garcia Cortes was driving his Honda Civic eastbound around 5 a.m. when he lost control on a curve, where his car veered into the westbound lane, then off the north shoulder and slammd into a tree with such force that the vehicle was split in half. Emergency crews pronounced him dead at the scene.
Highway 116 was closed for about 45 minutes following the discovery of the crash, and authorities are still investigating the exact cause, but they do not believe drugs or alcohol were contributing factors.